I bought SUPERMAN FAMILY VOL. 1 from Birmingham ICE recently for nearly seven quid. It reprints SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN issues along with a solo Lois Lane tale.

I have to say, and it's one thing I miss now, the tales are quirky. But a lot of fun.

In one story, Jimmy Olsen learns that he is descended from a pirate. I'll say no more for those who may want to read it, but as so many tales from that era did so well, there are plenty of twists and turns.

Many stories feature Olsen temporarily gaining super powers. Those are a lot of fun.

There's a story where Olsen receives radio signals from Mars. Again, won't spoil it, there are many twists and turns.

Most of the stories (1950s, I think) do feature bank robbers and gangsters rather than supervillains. Conversely, Batman tales from that era, certainly the ones I've read, feature monsters, genies and aliens.

They are all good fun, though. For just over six quid, they were a joy to read. Some fans may have some snobbery about them, but the truth is that they were FUN to read and very quirky at times. Olsen is almost as obsessed with finding out if Clark and Superman are one and the same as Lois is. 

Also seems like Metropolis is filled with well-meaning scientists who create potions/devices that somehow affect Olsen (who never seems to tire of being a guinea pig). Isn't there an FDA equivalent for scientists in Metropolis?

Quirky though the tales are, I wish we could see more of that now in mainstream companies. Would such tales work with today's cynical audience, though? Or would there be complaints about them not being grim and gritty?

Also worth mentioning is the sheer number of stories in the volume. Each issue of SUPERMAN'S PAL, JIMMY OLSEN featured *three* tales so this volume reprints quite a lot of stories, making it even more of a bargain.

Perhaps such quirky tales were a product of their era - and in the grim and gritty/realistic era, maybe fans wouldn't accept them. Seems a shame that we can't have those sorts of tales now, though.

Any thoughts?

Plus Curt Swan is amazing.  

Making fun of other stories didn't really come until the 80s when some writers felt embarrassed about their jobs and genre, and felt that deconstructing and mocking those stories could somehow elevate their own status. Quite jarring to those of us who were "the faithful", as it were.

None of this is to mock such stuff. I'm having a blast. 

There's a good tale where Olsen is wearing a Superman outfit whilst in a rural area. Some hillbillies see him in it and convince themselves he's the real Superman. They see a bear running away from Olsen. Turns out the bear ran because a skunk was in the cave, but the hillbillies see the bear running from Olsen - and are more convinced than ever that he's the Man of Steel.

All good fun!

They don't all have to be overly-serious.